MisterC Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Hi - after a fortnight of minus 12-15 here in the Charente our Ceanothus has interestingly crispy dark brown leaves which fall off when touched but I think the stems are OK. Normally it would flower on last years growth I think (I stand ready to be corrected) It looks as though it needs a good trim which would probably mean no flowers this year. What should I do apart from dig it up along with the Cordyline/Chusan Palm/Phoenix Canariensis/ Rosemary & Bay Tree which despite fleecing are all v sick. (or will they recover too?) help please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kizpip Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Sorry to see that you haven't received any replies as I was hoping for some advice myself. We have the same problem with our spreading Ceanothuses (one of which is about 10 feet wide) - crispy is a good description. I don't think the whole plant is dead though so I'm going to prune it quite hard and hope for the best.As for your other plants, I don't hold out much hope for the Cordyline/Palms, etc. I've seen many dead ones in our area and we're further south. My rosemary plant is dead as a dodo (scratch the stem to see if it's still green). However, I don't believe I could kill a Bay tree if I tried. Ours haven't suffered at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardengirl Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I found my big ceanothus had also suffered when I returned to the Thames Valley. It's fairly well-protected by a fence, so I was surprised. I've cut it back to undamaged parts, and I'm hoping it will still have some flowers on it. Another, smaller one in a less-sheltered position, but facing the same direction, escaped unscathed. Good luck, both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 My ceanothus is partly sheltered by a wall, some parts are distinctly crispy, but I'm leaving it until I can see how much has survived. My Lavetera has really suffered, but when I cut back into that the stems are still green inside despite everything else being black so I have pruned that and will wait and see. Just out of interest I have stuck some of the prunings into the veg patch to see if they take[:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cluzo Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 My cordyline in the UK caught by the weather last winter eventually showed signs of life by sprouting from the base in OCTOBER .So if you can leave it alone for many months it may eventually sprout from the bottom like mine did and you will finish up with a bush instead of of a tall tree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loiseau Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Yes, I was about to say that, Cluzo. My Vendee cordylines have copped it during one or two harsh winters, but they have ALWAYS recovered - often producing two strong trunks where there was only one before.So don't do more than clear away the most visible horrid-looking dead bits.Angela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianagain Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Having lost two ceanothi (?) in the past two years I was surprised to find that they only have a life expectancy of 10 years or so. This may well be the reason.Brian (again) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardengirl Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I guess my large one is at least 20 years old, so it's not doing too badly, even if I've had to cut it back recently. I know they aren't meant to last more than about 10 - 12 years, but I've usually had them for ages in various gardens; even the 2 smaller ones are about 8 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterC Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 Thanks for all your replies. Not sure how old this one is as it was here when we bought the house 3 years ago. It was very straggly with no bottom and my wife did a wonderful job of pruning it over two years so although it is (or was) a bit of an umbrella, it now looks nicely shaped. Have not started cutting ti back yet because we have had more frosts here in the Charente over the past 5 days. Have given it feed though and as we are promised balmy weather this week will start trying to save it! Rosemary is gone completely and the Cordyline is now just a 5 ft high trunk. I've cut the bay right back and here's hoping - but it was in a pot so that won't have helped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phylisbide Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 I have just taken out a pair of ceonothus because they had so little green left - had one in the uk some years ago which caught the frost and one small branch at the bottom was green - we cut out all the rest and tied the horizontal branch to be vertical - and it grew beautifully. Until it was frosted too. They are not long livers and if you have only odd bits of green I think you will struggle - the brown majority will look a bit odd when all the leaves fall off. PB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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